So The Dead May Smile
by KatKat1993
Summary: It has been less than a week since the 'Geostigma' incident, and already another epedemic is about to occur, and all in the shape of a smile. Cloud must stop it, before disaster strikes. VincentXLucrecia, and many new characters. K for possible violence.
1. Prologue

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

Note: Thank you to those who reviewed my last AC Fanfic. I appreciate it, and I'm glad you liked it. Trying something a little different now. A multi-chaptered one. UH OH! Remember my last failed attempt with Innocence Lost? Yeah, well I plan to carry on with that one. I WILL! Promise =P

So here's the prologue. There's a bit of LucreciaXVincent and CloudXAerith, as well as a NEW CHARACTER...OR TWO...OR THREE. OK there are quite a few new characters! ENJOY!

Arthur Spoole sat quietly on his high-backed chair at the head of the company meeting table. At that very moment, a heated discussion was taking place between a few of those others seated, and Arthur felt strangely pleased that his ideas caused controversy. He liked challenges. He knew that soon he would have to step in and produce a mind-blowing speech that would convince all twelve of the associates he had gathered here today to discuss his proposition to _want_ to agree with him. But that was not important right now.

So with the polite, interested smile stuck on his face, he lost himself deep into his own thoughts about the reason behind the meeting. Arthur Spoole's latest product.

THE MICROSMILE.

It had all started when Arthur had been a young lad, around about sixty-odd years ago. He had not had a happy childhood, as being an only child made life very lonely. But losing his mother had made it a whole lot worse. Arthur couldn't remember what illness she had suffered. Nor how long it had taken her to die. But what he could remember were her very last words, as her breathing became more laboured in those final few hours.

"You're a good kid Arthur, promise me one thing. Promise me you'll _do_ something. Make a difference to the world Arthur, and always aim high, for nothing is impossible." Arthur had promised, and with tears of pain running down her cheek, the life stream took her.

His life had never been quite the same from there on. His father had tried his hardest though, and Arthur appreciated that. When losing their partners, many disappear into the void of grief, and refuse to accept circumstance. But James Spoole knew his priorities and knew that Arthur would suffer if he did not receive the attention needed, and so got back on his feet as quickly as possible. Arthur admired his father for that. Arthur had admired his father for everything, and particularly now, as his father had been the inspiration for this idea. The idea that was going to change the world.

Arthur Spoole had lost his father not more than three years from the moment he sat at the rounded table. He too had died from an illness, causing Arthur to wonder if maybe there was a curse of some sort in his family. But what was important was that his father too had made Arthur promise to make a difference. To change the planet. And Arthur had promised. Then his father died.

With a smile on his face.

And all at once Arthur Spoole knew what to do. He set up his own business, MAD Creations. Many took the word MAD in the context of insane, and this was fitting as many of his creations were rather far-fetched, but it was actually an acronym of MAKING A DIFFERENCE. And that is exactly what Arthur Spoole intended to do. He had promised the only people he had ever cared about that he would. All his research had led up to this moment, the creation of THE MICROSMILE.

And soon...everyone would die with a smile on their face.

A small part of Arthur's consciousness told him that the time had come to make his speech. He stood up and coughed as his chair made a noise of protest at the sudden movement. The argument stopped as he moved and all eyes were on him. Confidently, Arthur cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen..." He began.


	2. Chapter 1

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

Note: Well here it is! CHAPTER 1! I hope you enjoy, a few recognisable characters in this one. Sorry to throw you all into a world of many unrecognisable people :P

Next chapter will be a Vincent one  I've already written it, just a matter of uploading. ENJOY THIS ONE! PLEASE REVIEW!

Tifa sighed as she continued to wash up glasses and mugs. The day had been long, but eventually, 7th Heaven's closing time had come. Marlene and Denzel had been sent to bed four hours ago, and so were probably fast asleep, and she would be done cleaning up soon. Tonight would be a perfect opportunity to spend some alone time with Cloud. Except she couldn't, because he was out.

Again.

In fact, Cloud was _out_ more than _in_ these days.

Tifa had begun to think that Cloud had got better, because after healing Denzel there had been a moment where he had smiled for the first time in ages. And he hadn't really stopped smiling since then. But he still seemed to be avoiding her, and this made Tifa extremely irritated. She tried to think back and see if there had been a moment that she had upset Cloud in anyway within the last few days, after the whole Sephiroth thing. But she could think of none in particular.

What made it worse was it was just her. Cloud was still fine around everyone else, even the children nowadays. It was just _her_.

Tifa just couldn't work it out. Had she truly done something wrong? Or maybe she was driving him away somehow.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the entrance door burst open, and Cloud strode in.

"We're closed- Oh Cloud!" She cried dropping the glass she was cleaning and flinging her arms around him as it smashed into a thousand pieces.

Not responding to the hug, Cloud asked "Has something happened?"

"No, I'm just pleased to see you." Tifa beamed up at him. Cloud seemed uncomfortable and coughed.

"Oh. Well you broke a glass. You should pick it up."

Tifa's face fell slightly, and she turned slowly to deal with the shattered pieces. Cloud shifted in position slightly and then spoke again. "I have some news."

"Oh yes?" Tifa asked, still not looking up at him.

"The bodies. Of Yazoo, Kadaj and Loz. They've...gone."

"Gone?" Tifa asked, finally turning, a hint of hysteria in her voice, of which Cloud got the opinion was not entirely because of the disappearance of the remnants. "What do you mean gone?"

"I mean they were there and now they're not." He said, trying to take a gentle approach. He knew he had upset Tifa. But since he had seen Aerith that last time, he had come to realise that by seeming to go along with Tifa in their 'relationship', he was doing nothing but stringing her along. He thought that by acting off with her she would perhaps get the message, as he could not bring himself to outright tell her that he did not love her. He loved Aerith, it had always been her and always would be her, even if she was no longer alive, she had never truly left him. And she never would, not even for the sake of Marlene and Denzel. Not even for the sake of Tifa's feelings.

Oh there was no denying that he cared for Tifa. He had grown up with her, and although she used to bully him, they had turned out in the end to become best friends. But now Cloud realised he had never wanted it to go any further than that. And he knew actually _telling_ Tifa would go one of two ways.

She would either hate him, which of course Cloud didn't want. She would refuse to see him, or let him see the kids anymore, whom lately Cloud had made time for and had been making real progress with. And there'd be no more free drinks from 7th Heaven that was for sure. Maybe he'd even be barred. But the important thing was Cloud did not intend for Tifa to _hate_ him, for he still did see her as one of his best friends.

But then again, she may not hate him.

The other of the two ways that Tifa could take the news was that she would obsess over him. _Really_ obsess. Obsessively. You see, Tifa was quite headstrong, and once she wanted something (namely Cloud) she _would_ have it. Except she wouldn't. She _couldn't_. But she'd give it a damned good go. Which is why Cloud couldn't face option B either. It would pain him to see Tifa embarrass herself in such a way, especially when in truth, they both knew really that there was no chance between them.

So Cloud went for option C. He'd have to tell her without actually telling her. Use body language to tell her to back off, without outright shouting 'I DON'T LOVE YOU' at her. Tifa was a smart woman, she would pick up the signs. In fact she probably already had done. Cloud looked over to where Tifa was piling the pieces of broken glass into the bin. She clearly thought he wasn't looking because a small tear streaked its way down her cheek. Yeah, she had definitely been picking up signs. Cloud sighed sadly. This was still as tough as telling her directly. He didn't want to hurt her.

He had been planning to act only friendly around her, only how they used to act around each other. But friends hugged. They joked, and smiled, and went out together. Acting like this around Tifa would only give her hope. Which he couldn't do. So until they had both made it clear their relationship was strictly 'friends only' material, he had to act indifferent around her. Which hurt.

But right now, this was the least of Cloud's worries. The bodies of Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo had indeed disappeared. The spaces in the morgue, where they had been waiting to be incinerated were empty. True they had at first disappeared to the life stream, like most bodies. But the life stream's process was long. It took the dead, used the energy of the soul, and then returned their shells back to the very spot where they had died. The body of Kadaj had been recovered a few hours after the life stream took him, shorter than most bodies took, but Cloud had put this down to the huge amount of Jenova cells that had manifested inside Kadaj. Maybe there was less soul energy for the life stream to collect or something. Cloud didn't really know whether his theory was correct, all he had cared about was making sure Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were incinerated quickly, so that they could be forgotten quickly. The bodies of Yazoo and Loz returned about fifteen minutes later.

Out of respect for the dead, it had been agreed that the three brothers would be incinerated together. And they were due to be incinerated tomorrow. Except now they couldn't, because they were gone.

Quite where Cloud didn't know. And that was what had concerned him. You see, Cloud had found the three to be so strong, he had never quite accepted they were dead. He had always thought that his 'little brothers' could not possibly have succumbed to death. So when he had found them gone, Cloud had begun to have horrible images that the three may have just got up and walked off. That they really were indestructible. But trying to stay positive, he pushed these thoughts away and replaced them with thoughts of finding the lost bodies. Dead or alive.

He would have to go and see Vincent. He had been meaning to go and visit his friend for a while, as he was beginning to get quite concerned about him. Lately, since Cloud had told Vincent about Aerith and Zack's last goodbye, Vincent had been withdrawn. He had been going to see Lucrecia a lot more, sometimes sitting amongst the crystals for many hours at a time. Cloud and Vincent had been friends for a long while, and indeed, Cloud was the only one who knew about Lucrecia's whereabouts. Cloud hated to think that he may have upset Vincent in any way. So he had resolved to go and see his friend to put things right, or at least try and sort out what was upsetting him. Now he had an excuse to visit.

Vincent was much more intelligent than the average man, as he had many years of experience and knowledge stored in his mind. He knew Vincent would be much more likely to be able to tell him why Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo took so little time for the life stream to finish with them. He would probably be able to reassure him about the small likeliness that Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo were roaming the streets once more. And maybe he'd be able to help with one more thing that Cloud wondered about. The _actual_ reason why Cloud had been visiting the bodies every night for the past couple of days. He had no idea whether anyone else had noticed, as they had been collecting the bodies up (if they _had_ noticed they'd been keeping bloody quiet about it), but there had been one other strange thing about the three. It had taken Cloud quite a while to realise.

That all three remnants had died...with a smile on their face.


	3. Chapter 2

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

NOTE: Sorry about the huge gap between uploads, I truly am, but I've had a lot of school work. Lots more chapters on the way, I'll upload as soon as possible. :P ENJOY!

***

Vincent made his way through the trees. The night air was chilling, but Vincent did not feel

the cold. Many had said that Vincent did not feel anything. Emotionally or physically, he seemed not to react. Many had said that Vincent was a heartless man. That he cared not of the world and its fate. But he did not care about what others said about him, for just like he did not feel the harsh, bitter wind, he did not feel the cruel words' impact either. Sometimes Vincent wondered if it was partly true. If he really did have no feelings. If he had seen too much of the world to care what happened to it. But then he thought of Lucrecia, and knew it wasn't true. She alone, though not in the world, could make emotion run through him again.

When he visited her in the underground crystal cavern, his heart warmed. It was the only place where he felt truly whole. Whether the feeling was a happy one or not he had yet to understand, but he was addicted to it. And that was why he went back again and again.

Ever since Cloud had told him of Aerith and Zack, how they had come to tell him he was not alone. How they had come to say goodbye, Vincent's longing for Lucrecia was awakened once more, and although he had promised himself he never would, he had visited the cavern once more.

He remembered when she had first died, he had gone to see her for the first time, for he was younger and more reckless then and thought he could handle it. He had gone in, and there had been her form, perfectly preserved. She looked as if she were sleeping. He had walked up to the shard of mako crystals that enveloped her and pressed his nose against it.

"I miss you." He had whispered.

And she hadn't answered. And it was only then that the truth had really struck him.

She was gone.

And Vincent had collapsed upon the ground and cried, not stopping for a whole day. Not stopping until there were no more tears. He had looked up one more time at her form, and a new fear had begun to form as he realised how he would never get over her.

And so he ran. And vowed he would never return. Never again.

But he broke that vow three days ago. When he thought about how he could easily try to talk to her, just like Cloud and Aerith.

And so, for the second time in the long years she had been gone, he had walked into her resting place, and sat amongst the crystals, focusing all his attention on her closed eyes, creased slightly as if in pain.

"Hello Lucrecia."

Nothing. Not a sound. But Vincent had learnt one thing in the many years that had gone by. Patience. So he waited. Three hours passed. And then:

"_Vincent."_

And the obsessive devotion had begun. Vincent hardly ever left her side, only for the basic need of food and water, for as long as he sat among the crystals, he was with her again. They would sit, and they would talk. He knew it saddened Lucrecia that he could not get over her. That had been the reason that she had not immediately spoken to him. But he could not leave her again. Not like he had so foolishly done all that time ago. As long as he was with her, he could feel again. For she herself had told him that they were all wrong.

"_You are not devoid of emotion Vincent. You have not lost your heart. It has broken, and frozen over. And I am sorry about that Vincent. I am so sorry."_

And then, in his mind, Vincent had held Lucrecia close to him, and ran his fingers through her soft chestnut hair, kissing her lightly on the top of her head. And she had responded by grasping his hand and holding it tightly. As if this was her last link to the planet. And for the first time in a long time, Vincent Valentine smiled.

He did not know, or care whether he was going mad. Whether he was dreaming this new link to Lucrecia, or she really was talking to him. All he knew was that as long as he kept going back, she would continue to talk to him. And that was why he was going back now. Because he could not keep away.

And so Vincent walked, once again, towards the cavern that contained everything his life was about.

And a horrendous sight met his eyes.

Fragments of crystal lay everywhere, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer and smashed the place up. The rocks were broken up, the cave, normally warm and friendly and dimly lighted was now just as cold as the rest of the world outside. It was almost pitch black, as the glow that normally came from Lucrecia's crystal had been extinguished. The mako crystals Lucrecia had been sealed in were smashed to pieces also. It was strange, as these were valuable, and yet it seemed not a single shard had been taken. And then the horrible truth emerged.

Lucrecia was gone.

Vincent frantically reached out his mind, trying to find her warm, honey-like presence, but was met only with the howling wind outside.

Vincent's fists clenched and he began to shake. An unstoppable grief built up inside him as he realised that he had lost the woman he loved above everything else for the second time. His head jerked upwards, and all at once his eyes blazed a dangerous shade of crimson. Rage pummelled through him, mixed with adrenaline, as Vincent was caught up in an unimaginable fury.

He wanted to know who had done this. Who had destroyed the only place he could call home. Who had taken the only one who made him feel human again. And why. Most importantly he wanted to know why. And he decided then and there that he would get these answers. And then he would kill them. He would make each and every person responsible, be it one, or a hundred, or even a million, he would make them _feel_ the pain that he felt at that very moment.

Vincent's piercing eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as he turned on his heel, and silently stormed out of the cave.


	4. Chapter 3

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

NOTE: Decided to upload this one too, while I could remember :P hope you all enjoy it! Another new character in the next chapter to come ;) Keep reading! PLEASE review it gives me a lovely warm feeling inside 

***

"This way sir." The laboratory assistant directed, as he and Spoole made their way through the network of corridors, towards Experimentation Room 24.

"What exactly has happened?" Spoole demanded, having to walk quickly to keep up with the scientist's excited pace. "Evans, you realise I was waiting for the outcome of an extremely important meeting, this _news_ you have had better be significant, the board will be expecting me to be there when they reach their decision. They will not tolerate-"

"Sir." The scientist calmly stopped and turned Spoole. "There has been a very _significant_ development in the specimen we collected only two hours ago."

Arthur Spoole took a moment to collect himself, and his eyes lit up with the same enthusiasm he had noted in Evans' eyes earlier that minute.

"A development since you inserted the chip?"

"Yes, we were very lucky to find her. We installed the chip a few minutes short of an hour and a half ago. At first she seemed unresponsive...but..." Leemos Evans paused, smiling slightly for effect.

"Yes, but?" Arthur cried impatiently.

"But, she has woken up." He finished, his smirk broadening.

"Excellent!" Arthur shouted, smiling even more widely. "Has she spoken? Moved? Increase in heart rate? _Anything_?"

Evans continued to smile. "Yes, she has indeed spoken. She has not moved much, but we believe this is purely because she is 'stiff' due to the conditions she has been in. We have not actually let her out yet to test her reflexes, but at the rate she is recovering, which is truly quite amazing, she may be ready for that process within a few hours! I am sorry for disturbing your waiting time sir, but this latest news truly was too important to wait, we felt."

"Yes, yes Leemos you're quite right." He said, taking special care to use his colleague's first name, to show he was pleased with his work. Indeed, Evans bowed his head slightly, acknowledging the compliment. "Shall we go in?"

"Indeed we shall." Leemos replied. "Just in here sir." He said, tapping MAD24 into the system. There was a small click and the door to Experimentation Room 24 opened. The blue lights were dimmed inside and a few computer mad noises and flashed lights every so often. Spoole looked up at the subject. She had long, chestnut brown hair, and she looked around with an air of wonder, tinged with fear. She was trapped inside a big glass tank, in the shape of a giant test tube. A pumping sound told Arthur that it was being constantly supplied with oxygen, while a small monitor told him that her heart rate was slightly faster than usual. Arthur felt this was to do with fear she was experiencing.

Arthur gazed at the woman and smiled. Their first Jenova experiment.

As he had tried to develop THE MICROSMILE, Arthur had taken a variety of subjects, dead or alive, voluntarily or not, to test each prototype on. After a dozen or so mishaps, they had begun making progress. Now, he knew that everything worked. Absolutely everything.

THE MICROSMILE had two main features. The first was its ability to create, when it felt the shutting down of the body, an image of great happiness for that person alone, picking on their hopes, needs, and memories, all in less than half a second, before the brain shut down. THE MICROSMILE had only a one in 1.367 billion chance of this not working it had been calculated. There had been one experimented where this chance had indeed occurred, where THE MICROSMILE had picked on the subject's _fears_ as opposed to dreams. The look of pure horror on the man's face had been deeply disturbing, and so his body had been disposed of.

After all, the board of Governors would not be happy if they saw it.

However, there was one other feature of THE MICROSMILE. One he decided it would be best to keep from the Board. Arthur Spoole had been working on the concept for years now, and he was still not sure how he had done it. Maybe he was mad. But it had worked, and he had finally reached his final goal.

THE MICROSMILE could now bring the dead back to life.

Previously, they had tried it on three successful experiments. Two that had already had the chip inserted and one that had not. They had found a body and inserted the chip after death, it had still worked. The subject had still awakened. Afterwards, during the Geostigma crisis, they had started fiddling around with Jenova infected subjects. Infected kids on the street mainly, had been used, and they too had died with smiles on their faces. Probably thinking of their non-existent or non-caring family.

And now this experiment, with Jenova cells inside her had been bought back to life. _And _she was responding. This was truly remarkable.

"May I?" He asked Leeson. Common courtesy. Leeson couldn't really say no.

"Of course." Leeson replied, handing Arthur a small microphone-type device. Arthur held it to his mouth.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. The subject snapped her head towards him, her fear accelerating. But Spoole could see there was anger there too. She had a hard time speaking, and when she did, her voice was a mere croak.

"Where's...Vincent?" She asked, her voice showing the pure frustration she was feeling.

"Vincent?" Whispered Spoole to his colleague. "Who's Vincent?"

"We're not sure." Leeson replied, frowning slightly. "He's all she asks about. A good friend of hers perhaps? Her spouse?"

"What is your name?" Arthur addressed the subject in the tank. "Who are you?"

"Where's Vincent?" The subject said, panic evident. "I want to see him." Spoole could see the subject was beginning to get stressed, soon she would probably cry if he didn't act quickly.

"Vincent will be here soon." He said smoothly. Lying came naturally to him nowadays. "Just tell us who you are." The subject looked slightly disorientated for a minute, and then relaxed slightly, though the bewildered look remained in her eyes. She sat down and hugged her knees tightly to her, seemingly resigned, never taking her eyes off Spoole.

"My name...is Lucrecia." She whispered, sounding scared. "Lucrecia Crescent."

"Look that name up on the files, and find out who this Vincent is." He murmured to Leeson. "I want any threats, anyone who would notice her absence _dealt_ with."

"Yes sir."

A security guard walked in. "Sir," He began. "The board request your audience."

Arthur smiled and hurried out of the lab, gleeful. They had tried THE MICROSMILE on everything now. Those who were and weren't affected with Jenova cells, and any way they were infected had been tested. Firstly through Geostigma, then only some cells. There was only one thing left. Testing those made up almost entirely of the cells.

They had specimens. The first job of THE MICROSMILE had worked, and now they needed to only wait to see if the second part would. All in good time.

Arthur arrived at the board room and entered, confidence in his stride. He sat down and waited.

"Mr Spoole, after much consideration, we have decided to let you go ahead with your plans to release THE MICROSMILE." The director announced, face impassive.

Arthur Spoole only smiled calmly.

"Thank you." He replied.


	5. Chapter 4

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

NOTE: Right, here's the next chapter, with characters new and old. Hope you enjoy. May focus on Vincent again for the next one. REVIEWWWW! PLEAAAAASE!

***

Show confidence. Seem innocent. Act naturally.

"Excuse me?" Mina Templeton asked. "I'm looking for a place named Seventh Heaven?"

Give nothing away. Show no emotion.

"You look a little young to drink kid." The bearded man chortled. "You on a social call or somethin'?"

"Yes I have an acquaintance who works there." She replied. "Cloud Strife, you may have heard of him?"

"Ha!" The man boomed. "Heard of him? Where ya been kid?! There ain't no one who's not heard of Cloud Strife. Without him, Edge wouldn't still be here. Come to think of it, neither would the planet." He chuckled some more, as if the possible destruction of the whole world was quite amusing. "Now to get to the bar, you need to take a left turn at the main street, you'll find you get to a big sorta' plaza..."

Mina listened to the man's long winded, chatter-filled instructions, with a look of faked, mild interest, as she had no real interest in any of his life experiences. She had a much more important job to do. She thanked the man politely when he had finally finished, and followed his instructions with precision and accuracy. Her fantastic memory and the ability to carry out instructions calmly and to every last detail had always served her well in her job. She arrived at Seventh Heaven and surveyed the building, taking in all that she could.

The building was small, some would say quaint. As far as she could see, the bar was popular, though seemed only to have one member of staff. There was a floor above the bar, no doubt where Strife and his little family lived. Of course Mina Templeton knew who Cloud Strife was. She had spent a good while researching him and everything about his life, asking around. She had even run into someone by the name of Barrett, a renowned friend of Cloud, who proved to be very informative. The woman behind the bar was no doubt Tifa Lockhart, Cloud's 'girlfriend', "Though," Barrett had added "Not for much longer."

Mina looked at the woman through the window. A tall woman, in black clothing, with dark hair, and a smile on her face for all the customers. But Mina could tell by her stiff body language and her over exaggerated gestures that she was angry and upset, probably about the obvious dip in her relationship with Cloud. She had a strong, stubborn look about her, and it was clear she was not to be messed with. On closer observation, as Mina entered the bar, she could see in Tifa's eyes that there was great concern and worry. A tinge of fear perhaps? About her future? Cloud? Her two adopted children?

Being a good judge of character and emotions was helpful to the job too.

But Mina did not really care about the thoughts and feelings of this one woman. That was not her job. She had to find Cloud Strife, for the one who had saved the world once, would surely do it again. At least, that was exactly what The Board hoped.

Mina Templeton was an agent, sent by The Board of Governors, whose job it was to listen to business ideas that companies put forward, however elaborate, and decide whether they should be allowed to run. The Board had become much stricter since the whole Shinra-Jenova thing, and had started hiring agents like Mina to keep an eye on products that had, perhaps, only just scraped a 'Yes'. Mina's job had been to keep an eye on the idea of a man named Arthur Spoole, who owned a company called MAD Creations. Each year, his products had become more eccentric, until he had dropped a bombshell. He had found a way to make the dead _smile_. Apparently, as the last few moments of their lives took place, those with THE MICROSMILE inserted would experience an illusion that they have always wanted to come true, or a happy memory again, so that they would die happy. The idea, to Mina, seemed somewhat creepy, but The Board had seen no harm in it and so had gone along with the idea.

However, there had been a concerning leak from an insider. Something about labs, secret experiments, people disappearing...both the alive and the dead. The Board had decided that no risks could be taken and so here was Mina, hoping that Cloud Strife would help her to try and find this supposed Research Centre, for if it existed then it needed to be destroyed. The leak had said that there was one more job for THE MICROSMILE and that although they couldn't say what, it would change life the way anyone knew it. The Board had been alarmed, and felt this should certainly be investigated. The existence of this Centre could prove detrimental to the whole planet in some way.

No pressure.

Mina needed to know what was going on, and if nothing was then she needed to find out quickly so that time and resources were not wasted. But she needed help. Cloud Strife.

Mina approached the young woman with dark hair, who looked immediately suspicious. As if she knew that Mina was not just there for a drink.

"I'm looking for Cloud Strife." She stated. Always get straight to the point.

The woman stopped washing up the glass and eyed Mina up. Mina wondered if perhaps this Tifa thought she was a girlfriend of Clouds', possible competition. Pathetic.

"Cloud's not here at the moment." The woman said, never taking her eyes off Mina. "Anyone who knew him would know that. I'm Tifa Lockhart, his girlfriend. Can I help you?"

Introducing herself and stating her position as 'Cloud's girlfriend' was an immediate sign of jealousy or suspicion. Mina mentally rolled her eyes, and smirked slightly, deciding maybe she could have a little fun. She hadn't had any in a while. The job didn't allow it.

"No, I don't think you can." She said with a false smile. "This is something only Cloud and I can discuss." Tifa flinched at the use of only Cloud's first name, and glared at Mina. Mina smiled inwardly. It was strange how she had taken an immediate disliking to this Tifa, and she wondered if she should worry that she enjoyed manipulating peoples' emotions. But it was necessary for the job.

"Is there anywhere I can wait for him?" She continued, picture of politeness.

Tifa took a moment to compose herself, and then with an equal air of fake around her replied "Of course, through the back and up the stairs. I'll tell him you're waiting." And returned to her glass without offering to show her through.

Mina made her way up the stairs, as directed, and found herself in a small but cosy apartment. She sat down on the sofa and looked around. There were a few pictures up on the wall of Tifa and two children. They must be Denzel and Marlene, Barrett had said. A man with spiky blonde hair and piercing blue eyes was standing slightly away from the happy family looking, well, downright miserable in all honesty.

"Excuse me," A voice enquired. Mina turned to face a small girl. "Are you here for Tifa?"

"No, I'm here for Cloud. I'm waiting." Mina smiled, this time in a genuine way. She never normally liked children that much, but the girl seemed so unusually happy in such hard times that the room seemed brighter all of a sudden.

"Oh." The girl replied, smiling. "Do you want me to get you anything? I'm sorry, I've never seen you before. Which of Cloud's friends are you?"

"No I'm fine thanks, and I'm not exactly Cloud's friend. I was directed here by a man named Barrett."

Mina knew this would get Marlene more talkative. Barrett had told her of the close bond he shared with this particular child, and Mina planned to use that for more information.

Sure enough, Marlene relaxed a little. "Barrett? Oh isn't he so great? Once he's finished his next oil survey he's coming to visit me again. He said he bought me a teddy!"

Mina remembered Barrett as a huge man, who had seemed quite violent with a mean sense of humour to her. He never shut up either. But he'd softened at the mention of Marlene.

"He was a very cool man sweetie." Mina smiled. "A teddy? What colour?"

"Blue!" Marlene almost shouted with glee. "Like Cloud's eyes!"

"So I see in the picture. You look very pretty in that. Cloud doesn't look very happy though."

"Oh," Marlene faltered. "That's because of Aerith. Cloud got sad for a long time because she died. Here." She picked up a small photo of a beautiful young woman, with chestnut hair and a pretty, pink bow in her hair.

"But he's happy now! Well...around _us_."

"Us?"

"Me and Denzel. I think him and Tifa fell out." The girl looked genuinely sad at this, and Mina felt a small pang of guilt about possibly making things worse through her conversation with Tifa downstairs. However, guilt was an annoyance to her job, and information was necessary.

"Marlene, why don't you tell me about your home life?"

Marlene frowned slightly. "What do you mean?" Suspicious like her foster mother. She'd have to start off with a good subject.

"Well tell me about everyone you know, or knew. I don't know much about this family" She lied "And I like to learn. Tell me about Barrett," She noticed Marlene's face light up at the thought "And his friends...what are they called? AVALANCHE? And Aerith, she must have been special, I want to know what she was like."

"Yeah, AVALANCHE. They save the world!" Marlene responded enthusiastically. "Aerith used to help them. Cloud and Aerith used to love each other, that's why Cloud got sad when she died. Well...when she got killed." Marlene seemed to be momentarily upset, and then smiled again.

"I'll tell you all about Barrett, he's my favourite! And Cid! Oh and Tifa, she's my foster mother! And even Vincent! He doesn't have a phone, isn't that so WEIRD!" She giggled, clearly enjoying herself. "And Denzel, my foster brother he's outside with his friends at the moment. I'm gonna marry him when I get older." She said smiling.

"Really? Am I invited to the wedding?" Mina asked.

"Of course!" Marlene cried, trust filling her eyes. She had won the girl over. Sweet.

"I'll try to remember stuff about Aerith too, it was a long time ago. Wow, I can tell you about all the times Cloud fought Sephiroth and stuff! And when I got kidnapped by this big man! It was real scary but Cloud saved me!" She grinned. Mina grinned too.

"Ok Marlene, we got time to fill. You tell me _everything_."

And Marlene did.


	6. Chapter 5

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

NOTE: Next chapter here, has a bit of everyone  in answer to vaporeon13204's question, what I intended was that they literally just found her. They did not specifically look for her. You will find out later that they have a special device that tracks Jenova cells, which of course Lucrecia has. They wanted to find bodies with these in an out of the way place, because the body is less likely to be missed (or so they think, in this case, clearly not :P). Hence, they stumbled upon Lucrecia :D Hope that helps. ENJOY THIS CHAPTER 

***

Cloud trudged through the undergrowth, towards Lucrecia's resting place. He had been to the spots where he would normally have found Vincent, and his attempts had been futile. There was only one place where Vincent could be. Only Cloud out of all of Vincent's friends had been told where Lucrecia now resided, and even he had been forbidden from entering. Quite how he was going to overcome this to get inside to talk to Vincent, Cloud didn't know, but he'd cross that bridge later.

Except he didn't have to. He found Vincent sitting, hugging his knees to him, outside the entrance of the cave. He did not move, but his whole body was rigid and tense, his fists clenched, as if he was trying to control his emotions. Emotions?

Did Vincent even have emotions?

Ok, so that was unfair. Of course he did. But he never _showed_ them. So for him to be trying to control them, something big must have happened. And then concern hit Cloud.

"Vincent?"

Vincent's head shot up, and Cloud started at the sudden movement, but even more so at the glowing, angry Scarlet that filled his eyes. A small, watery trail lead from the corner of one of his glowing eyes and down his cheek. A tear. Vincent was _crying_. He looked away from Cloud and began to stare straight ahead.

"What's wrong Vincent?"

A long pause, before Vincent, still staring into the darkness, jerked his head slightly towards the cave entrance. Cloud looked at the entrance, and noticed something weird. The dim light that the Mako Crystals normally emitted had vanished. Cloud ventured towards the cave and peered in, not wanting to upset Vincent by invading Lucrecia's space.

Pitch black.

"Go in," Came Vincent's voice, gruff and strained. "Look what they've done."

Cloud hesitated, and then obliged, taking a few steps into the darkness. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness the reality of the situation formed. Scattered pieces of crystal lay all over the cavern. Smashed. And Lucrecia was gone.

Eyes wide, Cloud made his way out. Vincent hadn't moved. Cloud had never seen him look so lost and empty, emotionless as he seemed, Vincent had always been the strong one of the group. The one who, when he arrived, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Cloud knelt down next to his friend.

"Who took her?"

Silence, and then. "I don't know. She was gone when I got here."

"We'll find her Vincent." Pause. "Maybe whoever or whatever took her got the remnants too."

Vincent looked up sullenly. "The remnants are gone?"

"Sure are. Just disappeared. Something's going on Vincent, and I'm gonna need your help to find out what."

Vincent remained silent for a while. "Will it help find Lucrecia?"

Cloud could not lie to those blood red eyes, filled with such unimaginable rage, such endless sorrow, and yet nothing. Nothing was left for Vincent to fight for except Lucrecia.

"I don't know." He said finally. "I feel that it might, but I promise you if it doesn't, after this has been sorted, I will scour the planet with you until she is found."

Vincent stared at Cloud a moment longer before nodding slightly, and getting up. "I'll help you." Before walking off into the forest in a flash of his billowing, red cape.

Cloud got up too; pleased he had Vincent's word. Vincent would need some time to grieve he knew, or he would never focus properly, so for now Cloud would leave it at that. But he knew Vincent would not change his mind.

Taking one last look at the cave, and the horror he knew it now contained, he began his journey home.

As he walked, he wondered what kind of mood Tifa was in. He knew that if she was in a stubborn mood he would probably end up snapping at her, for he was tired from the long day of walking. If he had only taking Fenrir he would probably be much more patient.

After some long walking, he reached Edge. As he made his way through the winding streets towards Seventh Heaven, his eyes caught sight of a poster. THE MICROSMILE was written in big, bold, capital letters. Stopping to rest slightly and take a closer look, he found there to be a picture of a bearded man holding a microchip, and smiling. The poster explained that the chip seemed to possess the ability to make the dying smile. Cloud chuckled slightly. Creepy.

He began the short walk back, towards the bar, looking forward to perhaps resting on the sofa or listening to some music.

As he walked through the door, he found the bar to be closing, and Tifa to be cleaning. She looked up and Cloud saw a glint of hostility in her eyes. She was in a stubborn mood. Great.

"Someone came to see you." She said, her voice strained.

"Really?" Cloud asked. "Who was it?"

"That's what I want to ask _you_." Tifa replied, slamming the glass down.

"O...k." Cloud replied. "What they look like?"

Tifa wasn't listening. "She just flounced in, bold as anything!" She cried, the jealousy beginning to show now. Cloud sighed.

"_This is something only Cloud and I can discuss_" She mocked. "What's so important that can't be said around me Cloud?"

"I don't know yet Tifa, I haven't gone to see her."

"I want to know who she is, and you are not leaving this room till you tell me." Tifa intoned angrily. Cloud looked back at her calmly.

"I can't tell you who she is until I know what she looks like can I?" And with that Cloud walked past the fuming Tifa, and made his way up the stairs.

He found a woman, not much younger than he, with short jet black hair, piercing emerald eyes and a one-piece suit made entirely out of shiny leather. She was fairly pale, with a slightly oriental look about her. Her make-up was not heavy, but sensible. Yes, everything about this woman radiated practicality and seriousness. She had a very business-like face. And she was listening to the intense, animated chatter of Marlene.

"So I thought the cake should have forty tiers! As high as the roof! And- Cloud!" Marlene cried, making the woman jump slightly. Marlene jumped off the sofa and ran headlong into Cloud's unsuspecting arms. Cloud patted the girl slightly and looked up at the woman, who was now staring straight at him. No, she was _studying_ him.

"Cloud! This is Mina! I've been telling her all about Vincent, and Cid, and Barrett, and Denzel and Aerith and-"The girl faltered slightly, realising the mention of Aerith probably had been bad. But Cloud was too shocked by the sheer amount of information Marlene had given away. He had no idea who this woman was and now he felt she probably knew everything about him.

"Why don't you go help Tifa clean up Marlene? Uhh...Mina...and I need to talk."

"Sure!" Marlene and went skipping down the stairs, leaving behind a very bewildered Cloud, and a still staring 'Mina'.

"Can I help you, Miss...-?" He asked suspiciously.

"Miss Templeton. Mina Templeton." She intoned, not coldly, yet not entirely friendly. She was suspicious too.

"Miss Templeton. Tifa didn't say why you came?"

"I didn't tell her." Mina replied. "I'm here because I need your help Cloud Strife."

"With what?"

"I am from The Board of Governors. I am here because we have had a leak that a product idea we have passed may be dangerous. Have you ever heard of THE MICROSMILE?"


	7. Chapter 6

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

NOTE: Hey guys, sorry this took so long to update. I have been busy with exams and whatnot, and I'm sorry this chapter is short but the next one will be longer I promise. It's gonna be some more Cloud/Mina :P Please enjoy, and Review! PLEASE!

***

"How are they coming along?" Spoole asked one of the security guards on the door politely.

"Sir, you're just in time. I believe all three have woken up now."

Arthur Spoole's calm smile did not betray the excitement that built up inside him.

"Excellent." He replied. "Take me to them."

Both men entered the laboratory and Spoole surveyed the sight that met his eyes. Three men clad in leather were trapped in giant, singular test tubes similar to Lucrecia's. Spoole smiled as he remembered the mysterious, unknown woman. He at least knew who these men were, and he liked that. Being able to name something gives you power over it.

The man to the very left surveyed the situation, with a distinctly calm perspective. Yazoo. He was the first to notice Arthur's presence but his cat-like eyes did not betray any emotions at all, quite in contrast to the remnant to the very right, Loz, who banged on the glass walls that surrounded him, hollering loudly. The centre remnant, perhaps the most important of the three, Kadaj, glared at Spoole suspiciously.

"How are you feeling?" Spoole asked, forcing a smile.

"Why are we here?" Kadaj asked. Spoole glared at him for a moment.

"You didn't answer my question, that's a little rude isn't it?"

"Well you didn't answer mine either. Who are you? Why are we here? What do you want with us, and more importantly...why aren't we dead?"

That last one shook Spoole slightly. Not many of those he bought back to life remembered they were meant to be dead. Loz had stopped banging on the glass now and was also staring at Spoole, while quietly crying to himself.

"You have had a small chip called THE MICROSMILE inserted inside you." Spoole stated. "Do you remember anything about your death?"

"I...I saw mother." Kadaj answered, bowing his head slightly.

"Me too." Yazoo and Loz answered together.

"That was THE MICROSMILE." Spoole said. "And it was THE MICROSMILE that bought you back to life. Do you notice anything different?"

"Yes." Kadaj answered. "We're no longer part of Sephiroth."

"My, aren't you the perceptive one." Spoole smiled.

"Why have you done this?" Demanded Loz.

"You should be happy; I have given you a fresh start to be your own people without the influence of Sephiroth." Spoole told them.

"My brother asked you why." Yazoo answered. "What do you want from us?"

Spoole paused; he had never met any bunch of humans so perceptive to detail. He felt that Loz was perhaps the weakest mentally, but his sheer brute strength would more than make up for that.

"All in good time gentlemen." Spoole declared. "Security?"

The guard from before walked into the room. "Yes sir?"

"Take these three to where our other recent subjects are being held. I will speak with them later."

Spoole pressed a button, and the glass lifted so that the three could get out. Loz began to cry again, and Yazoo went to him quickly. Kadaj just stood with his arms folder and stared at Spoole. Arthur was glad when security led them away, for Kadaj had begun to unnerve him.

The guard who had taken them returned. "Sir?" He began. "May I ask a question?"

"Permitted."

"What do you require the three remnants for?" He asked. "In fact what do you require any of them for now?"

"As I said, all in good time." Spoole answered and turned away, but not before catching the look in the Security Guard's eye. 'He thinks I'm mad.' Spoole thought as he walked into his office.

'They all do.'

Spoole turned on the PA system and bent close to the microphone.

"From now on." He stated. "Everyone working for MAD Creations is obliged to have THE MICROSMILE inserted. And I mean _everyone_."

Spoole listened to the outraged cries of protest through the bugging systems he had inserted everywhere.

And smiled.


	8. Chapter 7

**SO THE DEAD MAY SMILE**

NOTE: Here you go, a longer chapter  Hope you enjoy! Not sure what the next chapter will contain yet, maybe a completely fresh perspective on things. We shall see. PLEASE PLEASEEE REVIEW, I have cookies .

***

"THE MICROSMILE? I saw a poster of it on the way back here actually. Makes the dead die happy, right?" Cloud asked.

"Indeed." Mina answered.

"So? Isn't that good?"

"Not necessarily. As I have said, an insider from the company told us that THE MICROSMILE is not all it seems."

"What does this have to do with me?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"THE MICROSMILE is possibly very dangerous." Mina said. "It is up to me to find out whether it is or not very quickly, and if it is then the threat must be shut down immediately."

"What kind of a threat are we talking about here?"

Mina paused for a while. "We don't know." She said finally, and Cloud got the feeling that this probably bugged her very much. "But our source said it would change the way we knew things forever. If this really is dangerous, I am going to need help in shutting down the threat. That is where you come in Cloud."

"Why me?" Cloud asked.

"You and AVALANCHE. We feel...that this may result in a physical battle."

"I'm a delivery boy." Cloud stated, not looking at Mina.

"Cloud you saved the world from Sephiroth, the planet's biggest threat yet! You are possibly our only hope. Children have begun disappearing off of the streets again. That behaviour as you fully well know is similar to what happened when the remnants were around."

'Wow,' Cloud thought. 'This woman has really done her homework!'

"The remnants are gone." Cloud said. "Their bodies have disappeared."

Were they really alive again?

"In that case, we may have to consider the possibility that the Remnants are working with Spoole. You see how dangerous this situation is?"

"The remnants were dead!" Cloud shouted. "Kadaj died in my arms, I know it! That explosion killed Yazoo and Loz! They can't have survived it!"

"Why not?" Mina asked quietly. "You survived the explosion too."

"But they were DEAD!"

"So was Sephiroth." Mina argued.

Cloud stopped. She was right; the Remnants could easily be alive. The thought scared him.

"Alright. Where do we start?"

"There is talk of a secret laboratory located somewhere in the Midgar Area. Using common sense I'd say probably out of the way of the city. And nowhere near MAD Creation's headquarters and main offices."

"But not too far away." Cloud intoned. "Spoole wouldn't want do too much travelling would he?"

Mina paused to think. "That's very true. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe-"

"Tea?" Tifa asked, barging in to the room, slamming the door behind her. "Would anyone like a cup of tea?"

Mina looked momentarily stunned, and then smiled, though not with her eyes. "No thank you."

Cloud sighed. "No Tifa, but thanks anyway."

"So what's going on?" Tifa asked, unphased. "Marlene and I have finished cleaning; I've sent her to bed."

"This is Mina." Cloud told her, noting the flash of insecurity in Tifa's eyes at his use of Mina's first name. "She's here to discuss an alliance with AVALANCHE, it's nothing too important."

"Well last time I checked Cloud, I was a member of AVALANCHE so it's ok." Tifa said sitting on the sofa and making herself comfortable.

"Ok...Well she's from-"

"I am from the Board of Governors, for business." Mina interrupted. "I am here because the product 'THE MICROSMILE' has been leaked as dangerous."

"What has this got to do with Cloud?" Tifa asked suspiciously.

Cloud sighed. Tifa had clearly already taken a disliking to this woman and was now going to be difficult. Great.

"We would prefer AVALANCHE's co-operation if the result of our investigation is a physical battle."

"Is it likely to be? What kind of a danger is there?" Tifa asked, suddenly dropping the jealous girlfriend thing and going into business mode. Perhaps, Cloud thought, Tifa had remembered that the Remnants were gone and was making connections in her head. Tifa may be slightly irritating at times, but she wasn't stupid, and now her role as a protective mother was coming out in full flow.

Mina paused. "As I have said to Cloud we don't actually know. Our source from inside Spoole's organisation couldn't tell us, but he did say that it would change life as we knew it."

"I have already agreed to help." Cloud told Tifa, causing her to look angrily at him. "Tifa, children are disappearing. With our connections to the Turks maybe we could really help here."

The look of fury in her eyes, and worry replaced it instantaneously.

"Miss Lockhart, I advise you keep your children close until we find out exactly what is happening here." Mina told her.

Tifa immediately got out her phone and dialled a number.

"Denzel? I want you to come home right now. No buts- yes well now I've changed my mind. Hurry, bye, I love you." Tifa cut off and looked up, and then suspicion arose in her eyes again.

"How did you know my name?"

Mina smirked, and turned to Cloud. "I'll call you tomorrow." And began to quickly stride from the room.

"Wait!" Cloud exclaimed. Mina stopped in her tracks, without turning.

"Yes?"

"There's another body disappeared. My friend's...well she was very important to him. The body of Lucrecia Crescent."

Tifa gasped. "Oh poor Vincent!"

Cloud mentally rolled his eyes at the name given away, and continued to stare at Mina.

"This...this is not the first dead body reported missing. As well as the remnants there were at least six others, maybe more which were unnoticed. We are looking into it."

"I need help in finding her. Please?"

"...I'll do what I can." Mina said still not looking at him. "Goodbye." She said, striding from the room, leaving behind an awkward silence.

Shortly broken by Denzel entering the house. "Hey, umm what's going on?"


End file.
